London Mayor to trial solar roads

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has revealed that City Hall could begin trialling new technology that converts solar rays on the road into electricity.

Johnson made the announcement on Mayor's Question Time this week and said he believed there was "much more scope for generating solar power in London than we previously thought" and that the City Hall environment department has been researching solar road technology.

Solar Roadways came to prominence in 2014 when founders Scott and Julie Brusaw launched a crowd funding campaign to raise US$1 million for a pilot project.

The initiative proved so popular that more than double the target was raised.

The technology has a modular paving system of solar panels that can withstand the weight of trucks and can be installed on roads and car parks.

Johnson said: "I know one thing we have been studying with interest is the solar roads scheme that they had going in some parts of America. Whether the sun is quite good enough in London to deliver solar power from our roads I cannot say with authority, but we should definitely be looking at all of this stuff."

The Mayor also said he would consider a proposal from Green Party Assembly Member, Baroness Jenny Jones, for a new Solar Delivery Unit, with new research showing that London has the least solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity of any other region in mainland Britain.

Baroness Jones urged the Mayor to launch a solar delivery unit using £200,000 from the near £500,000 budget surplus he is expected to deliver this year.

According to the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), only one in 221 London households have fitted PV installations compared to one in 28 in the South West of England.

Johnson said: "I'm actually a believer in solar and I think that it's a great way forward, I think the technology is now changing fast there may be much more scope for generating solar power in London than we previously thought.”